Air conditioning apparatus



y 9, 1939. H. F. BEEMAN 2,157,519

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed March 10, 1958 2 SheetsSheet l a-T,

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AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 10, 1938 Lima;

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Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STAT-ES PATENT FFICE AIR CONDITIONINGAPPARATUS Henry F. Beeman, Denver, 0010. Application March 10,1938,Serial No. 195,025 8 Claims. (01. 261-41) This invention relates toimprovements in air conditioning apparatus and has reference moreparticularly to a portable apparatus that can be used to condition theair of oflices, individual rooms and small homes.

It is well known that the summer heat, in many p rts of our country, isalmost intolerable due to the combined effect of humidity and heat.

It has been proposed to subject the air to the cooling action of amechanical refrigerating unit and to circulate the air through coilscooled by a brine solution. Such air conditioning devices are expensiveto install and to operate and are therefore suitable only in placeswhere cost is not a serious consideration.

It is the object of this invention to produce an air conditioning devicethat can be produced at a very reasonable first cost and which can beoperated at a minimum expense.

Another object is to produce an air conditioning device that can be usedfor heating as well as for cooling and which-will reduce the temperaturequite appreciably without having to resort to mechanical refrigerationor to the use of ice.

Another object is to produce a device of the character specified thatcan be employed to drastically reduce the temperature of a room by theuse of ordinary or "dry ice whenever this becomes necessary.

It is well understood that the temperature of water can be reducedrapidly and to almost any extent, even to the freezing point, by theaction of evaporation combined with a decrease in air pressure.

It is the object of this invention to produce an air conditioning devicethat combines the evaporative action of air and partial vacuum to reducethe temperature of the water employed to cool-the air.

It is well understood that the latent heat of vaporization or water isvery great and therefore by" expediting the evaporation by a decrease inpressure a large quantity of heat is abstracted from the air.

The objects pointed out above and any other objects that may becomeapparent as this description proceeds are attained by means of aconstruction and an arrangement of parts that will be described indetail in the following portions oi. this specification and for thispurpose.

reference will now be had to the accompanying drawings in which theinvention has been illustrated and in which:

Figure 1 is a. vertical longitudinal section taken on line l-l Fig. 2;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus, with the cover removed,portions being broken away and shown in section to more clearly disclosethe construction;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section, taken on line 33 Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation looking in the direction ofarrows 4-4 Fig. 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevation, looking in the direction ofarrows 55 Fig. 3;

Figure 6 is a fragmentarytop plan view of the cover, looking in thedirection of arrows 6-6 Fig. 1;

Figure 7 is a section taken on plane 'l--1 Fig. 1; and

Figure 8 is a section taken on line 8-8 Fig. 2 and shows the wallconstruction.

The apparatus consists of a box-like cabinet having a bottom l0 and anend wall II, a removable end wall l2, side walls I3 and a cover H. Apartition l5 divides the interior oi the cabinet into two unequalcompartments A and B. The bottom is provided with two cleats i6 on whichthe cabinet is supported.

Compartment A has a sheet metal lining I! that forms a water tight tank.At one end of compartment A is an ice compartment 0 that has a bottom l8and a front side wall l9 which are attached to the lining I! so as toform a water tight tank. When very low temperatures are desired tank 0may be filled with ice, with ice and salt or with dry ice. It will beobserved that the bottom i8 is spaced a considerable distance above thebottom of compartment A so as to allow a large space for water. In Fig.1 the top level of the water has been shown as about on the level withbottom l8. An overflow pipe 20 determines the water level.

From Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that a sheet metal partition 2|extends downwardly parallel with wall l9, and is spaced some distancefrom the latter so as to provide a narrow passage D in which ispositioned a zigzag screen 22, which may be a copper fly screen or ascreen of smaller mesh. A'pipe 23 is in communication with a. watersupply pipe 24 through a cook 25 which controls the rate at which thewater is supplied to compartment A. It will be observed that pipe 23 isprovided on its under side with a row of holes of small diameter throughwhich the water flows in fine streams or sprays 26 and the water thatthus enters is further broken up by the screen. It will be noted thatscreen 22 is in 55 thermoconductive contact with the sheet metal wall i9and therefore, when compartment 0 con-- tains ice, the temperature ofthe water will be lowered until by the time it reaches the bottom of thescreen it will be practically the same temperature as the water in tankC.

Cover l4 fits air tight against the top of the housing and air issupplied through an air pipe 21. This pipe has been shown as ofrectangular cross section and has three sides, two of which are solderedto the side wall I l of compartment A so as to form a conduit E. At thetop the air pipe has a portion 28 that extends through an opening inwall l3 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. A shield 29 covers the intakeopening 30 of the air pipe. It will also be observed that the air pipeprojects downwardly below the water level and that it is downwardlyflaring.

A fan of any suitable type is provided for producingan air circulation.The fan illustrated is of the rotary centrifugal type and has a housing3| of concoidal shape and provided with a discharge opening 32. The fanhousing is attached to the partition l5 and is preferably located on theinside of compartment A but may be positioned any suitable place. Thehousing has an air inlet 33 that is in communication with the interiorof compartment A. The fan has a rotor 34, of usual construction, and ismounted on the end of shaft 35 of motor 36, which is supported on ashelf 31 located in compartment B. Current is conducted to the motorthrough suitable conductors 38 and controlled by a switch that has notbeen shown.

The cover has an opening 39 that may be closed by a pivoted cover 40.The object of opening 39 will be explained as this description proceeds.The cover is also provided with an opening M in which is positioned anelectric heater 42, the heat coils of which have been designated byreference numeral 43. By means of the electric heater it is possible touse the device to heat a room instead of cooling it.

A separate cover 44 is provided for compartment C and this rests onangle iron brackets 45 attached to the walls of the compartment. Cover Ihas a ring 46 by means of which it can be raised whenever necessary.

The walls of the cabinet are so constructed that they are poor heatconductors and from the cross section shown in Fig. 8, it will be seenthat the walls comprise an outer layer 41 of wood and this is separatedfrom a layer 48 of heat insulating material such as Celotex or cork by alayer 49 of tar paper. The inside is covered with sheet metal I! and theupper edge has an angle 50. The walls may, of course, be constructed inany suitable manner but the construction described has been found to besatisfactory.

Let us now assume that the apparatus that has just been described isinstalled in a room and connected with the water supply, the drain andwith the electric current supply. Water is allowed to enter until itoverflows through pipe 20. At the level indicated the lower end of theair inlet conduit will be submerged. When the cover is in place and themotor started the air pressure within compartment A will be decreaseduntil air begins to enter. Since the air inlet is below the surface ofthe water the air must necessarily bubble through the water and besides,in order to overcome the sealing action of the water, a partial vacuummust be formed in compartment A. The decrease in air pressurefacilitates evaporation in accordance with well understood physicallaws.

The air that passes through the water seai evaporates water and thisremoves heat from the air with the result that its temperature islowered many degrees and it therefore emerges from the fan outlet 32 asa stream of cool and humidified air, and since the quantity of air thatcirculates per minute is very large, even with a small fan and motor, ittakes only a short time to reduce the temperature of a room appreciably.

If lower temperatures are desired than can be obtained by theevaporative action utzly, ice may be placed in compartment C and if verylow temperatures are desired the natural ice may be mixed with salt ordry ice" may be used.

After the temperature has been reduced the desired amount, opening 39 ispartially uncovered so as to reduce the quantity of air that comes intodirect contact with the water and thus decrease the evaporation.

The zigzag screen is of importance because it. exposes the water in thinsheets that are in good heat conductive contact with the wall ofcompartment C so that when the latter contains ice the water will bethoroughly cooled by the time it reaches the bottom of the screen.

In winter, or if it is desirable to increase the temperature of the air,the water may be removed from compartment A and the electric heater putinto operation whereby the air will absorb heat as it flows throughcompartment A.

Attention is again directed to the fact that the water in compartment Ais maintained under a partial vacuum during operation; this is duepartly to the water seal and to the fact that the fan pulls the air fromcompartment A. If the air was forced through the compartment by a.blower located in the inlet pipe the pressure in this compartment wouldbe increased.

By passing the air through the water it will be washed as well ashumidified so that it will emerge clean and cool.

From the above description it will be apparent that the apparatus issimple and substantial and has great capacity, per unit size, forchanging the temperature of the air and that it can be readily.

transported and installed wherever desired, in

homes, offi'ces or hospitals.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is 1. An aircooling and humidifying device, comprising in combination, a housinghaving a removable cover, a fan having an inlet opening and an outlet,the inlet being in communication with the interior of the housing, theoutlet being in communication with the space about the housing, meanscomprising an electric motor for operating. the fan, and an air inlettube extending down-v wardly with its air delivery end opening adjacentthe bottom of the housing, whereby when there is a quantity of water inthe housing it will cover the opening in the tube, wherefore when thefan operates to remove air from the housing, air will enter through thetube and pass through the water covering the opening therein.

2. An air cooling and humidifying device, comprising in combination, ahousing having a removable cover, a fan having an inlet opening and anoutlet, theinlet being in communication with the interior of thehousing, the outlet being in" communication with the space about thehousing, means comprising an electric motor for operating the fan, anair inlet tube extending downwardly with its air delivery and openingadjacent the bottom of the housing, whereby when there is a quantity ofwater in the housing it will cover the opening in the tube, wherefore,when the fan operates to remove air from the housing, air will enterthrough the tube and pass through the water covering the openingtherein, and means for supplying water to the housing to replace thatremoved by evaporation.

3. An air cooling and humidifying device, comprising in combination, ahousing divided into two unequal compartments by a transverse partition,a cover for the larger compartment, a rotary fan having its inletopening in communication with the larger compartment and its outlet incommunication with the space outside of the housing, a motor in thesmaller compartment, means for driving the fan from the motor, and anair inlet tube having its upper end open to the atmosphere at a pointabove the bottom of the housing and its lower end opening into thelarger chamber a short distance above the bottom of the housing wherebywhen the larger compartment contains water it covers the lower end ofthe air inlet tube, wherefore when air enters the larger compartment dueto the operation of the fan it will flow through the water and produceevaporation thereof.

4. An air cooling and humidifying device, comprising in combination, ahousing divided into two unequal compartments by a transverse partition,a cover for the larger compartment, -a rotary fan having its inletopening in communication with the larger compartment and its outlet incommunication with the space outside of the housing, a motor in thesmaller compartment, means for driving the fan from the motor, an airinlet tube having its upper end open to the atmosphere at a point abovethe bottom of the housing and its lower end opening into the largerchamber a short distance above the bottom of the housing whereby whenthe larger compartment contains water it covers the lower end of the airinlet tube, wherefore when air enters the larger compartment due to theoperation of the fan it will flow through the water and produceevaporation thereof, and means for replacing water lost by evaporation.

5. A cooling and humidifying device for the conditioning of air,comprising in combination, a housing divided into two unequalcompartments by a transverse partition, a cover for the largercompartment, a motor in the smaller compartment, a rotary fanoperatively connected with the motor, the Ian having an air intakeopening in communication with the interior of the larger compartment andan air outlet in communication with the space about the housing, an airinlet adjacent the bottomof the larger compartment, a tube connectingthe inlet with the outside of the compartment adjacent its top, meanspositioned in the larger compartment for reducing the temperaturethereof, and means for supplying water at a predetermined rate to thelarger compartment.

6. A cooling and humidifying device for the conditioning of air,comprising in combination, a

' housing divided into two unequal compartments by a transversepartition, a cover for the larger compartment, a motor in the smallercompartment, a rotary fan operatively connected with the motor, the fanhaving an air intake opening in communication with the interior of thelarger compartment and an air outlet in communication with the spaceabout the housing, an air inlet adjacent the bottom of the largercompartment, a tube connecting the inlet with the outside of thecompartment adjacent its top, means positioned in the larger compartmentfor reducing the temperature thereof, and means for supplying water at apredetermined rate to the larger compartment, said last named meanscomprising a screen for spreading the water to increase the surface areaexposed to the evaporation eflect of air.

7. An air cooling and humidifying device for the conditioning of air,comprising in combination, a housing having a compartment for containinga quantity of water, means for supplying water and for maintaining it ata predetermined level, an air inlet tube having its upper end open tothe atmosphere and its lower end opening in the compartment below thelevel of the water therein, means comprising a blower for removing airfrom the compartment whereby a partial vacuum will be formed above thelevel of the water, and air will be induced to flow from the atmospherethrough the conduit and bubble up through the water so as to expediteevaporation, and means for admitting a quantity of air to thecompartment without passing it through the water.

8. In an air conditioning apparatus comprising a casing having a watercompartment, an exhaust fan in communication therewith, means forintroducing air into the compartment within the body of water containedtherein, an ice compartment, a screen in heat conducting connection withthe wall oi! the ice compartment, and means for delivering water to theupper edge of the screen whereby. it will be formed into a thin layer incontact with the wires of the screen so that it will quickly attain thetemperature of the screen.

ENRY F. BEEMAN

